Windows

What you need

• Java 21 or newer. Paper 1.21 needs at least Java 21 to run. Check with java -version. If you don't have it:

winget install Microsoft.OpenJDK.21

or, with Scoop:

scoop install openjdk21

• The paper binary. Either download a prebuilt paper.exe, or build it yourself (needs the Go toolchain):

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts/build.ps1

This drops build/paper.exe (~177MB — the server files live inside it). Put it somewhere on your PATH, or call it by its full path.

Your first server

paper new .\my-server
paper run .\my-server --nogui

That's it. The first launch takes a bit while the world generates; when you see Done, the server is up. Type stop in the console to shut it down cleanly.

To run a server from its own folder, skip the path entirely:

cd my-server
paper run --nogui -m=2gb

Notes

• --nogui is worth using on Windows so the server doesn't open a separate GUI window.
• If PowerShell blocks the build script, that's the execution policy — the -ExecutionPolicy Bypass in the command above handles it for that one run, nothing on your system changes.
• The full command list lives on the Home page.